Cute actress/comedienne Aubrey Plaza, who plays Daisy, the love interest in the new Adam Sandler/Seth Rogen/Jonah Hill comedy Funny People, is a real up and comer. She’s co-starring in the Amy Poehler TV series “Parks and Recreation” and will appear in the upcoming Michael Cera action-comedy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

We interviewed 23-year-old Aubrey in Santa Monica recently and noted that she was glammed up from her long, straight hair with bangs and glasses look in the film to a sleek semi up-do and no specs. She looked current/cute in a green tank over a black tee and a short animal print skirt. Ever wonder just how small the show biz world really is? A few days after our interview, I was on a plane from L.A. to Montreal for a set visit and who sits down next to me but Aubrey! After the “Didn\’t I just interview you?” “Yeah!” greetings, we ended up exchanging info, chomping on some cinnamon gum and with me spilling 7-Up on her purse! Aubrey was on her way to Montreal to appear in several shows at a big Comedy Festival which she didn’t mention at our interview. We wished her great luck and the usual show-biz “break a leg” send off and had a great flight during which the exhausted Aubrey slept more than I did. Reverse back to L.A. and our beachside interview.

TeenHollywood: Aubrey, how did you get cast in Funny People? Didn\’t you do stand-up and have a friend shoot it, and then stick it on YouTube? Did your agent tell you to do that?
Aubrey: I did that on my own, actually. I knew that they wanted to cast a stand-up, and I hadn’t really done it before, so I just decided to try it and I had my friend shoot it.

TeenHollywood: How was that experience?
Aubrey: It was totally terrifying. But, it was good. It had a good outcome.

TeenHollywood: Do you write your own stuff, all the time?
Aubrey: Yeah. I wrote all my stand-up in the movie, and all the stand-up that I do now.

TeenHollywood: They say a lot of funny people were miserable as kids. Does that apply to you or no?
Aubrey: I wasn’t miserable as a child, but I definitely have some insecurities that I work out on stage. I think that growing up with insecurities always leads to comedy, in some way.

TeenHollywood: Were you the class clown as a teen?
Aubrey: No. I was like Reese Witherspoon in Election. I was a huge dork, who was the president of everything. I was everyone in Election, really. I was more of a loser, in that way. I was really, really into taking things way too far and being involved in everything. I was an overachiever.

TeenHollywood: What was it like to work with famous director Judd Apatow? How much freedom did he give you?
Aubrey: With the stand-up, he gave me total freedom. He liked what I was doing, so he let me go with it. And, in the scenes, it was all in the script, but he definitely let us, on our feet, rewrite some things and play around. He was really good about giving us freedom.

TeenHollywood: I understand Judd just had crews running around filming all the actors’ stand up shows. A lot of that didn\’t end up in the film. Maybe on the DVD?
Aubrey: Yeah. They would follow me, no matter how small the show was that I was doing. They would even film open mic nights.

TeenHollywood: What has this last year been like for you? It seems like you are an overnight success.
Aubrey: Well, it wasn’t a slow build, at all. It happened at once, literally, in one week. I was out here (in L.A.) last summer, and I had an audition for Funny People, Scott Pilgrim and ‘Parks & Recreation’ and, in one week, my life completely changed.

TeenHollywood: Had you done the movie Mystery Team, at that point?
Aubrey: Yeah.

TeenHollywood: How did you get involved with Mystery Team? Was that just through (the comedy troupe) Upright Citizens’ Brigade?
Aubrey: Yeah. I actually went to school with those guys. We were in the same class, in film school at NYU. And then, we all performed, at the same time, at the UCB Theater, so we were really aware of each other and what everyone was doing. When they wrote the script, they asked me to do the table read and it just worked out that way.

TeenHollywood: So, how has all this sudden success been for you? Are you able to deal okay?
Aubrey: I don’t know. I think I’m dealing with it okay. But, it’s been a really busy year, so I haven’t had much time to stop and really think about it. I came from Upright Citizens’ Brigade in New York, The extremity of how fast things changed is really unusual. People make comments to me, telling me how lucky I am, all the time. There are moments where I’m like, ‘How did I end up here?’ And, I moved to L.A. from New York too, so that’s been a big change.

TeenHollywood: Are you liking it so far?
Aubrey: Yeah, I like it. It’s hot and sunny.

TeenHollywood: Who were your comedy inspirations? Who made you want to do what you’re doing?
Aubrey: There’s a ton of people, for me. There’s not just one. I’m lucky to work with one of them, Amy Poehler. She’s huge for me, especially with UCB. She founded that. And, Janeane Garofalo, Tina Fey and old SNL cast members.

TeenHollywood: What are the biggest changes in the way you approach comedy now?
Aubrey: I don’t know. I just look at the world differently. Everything could be a joke to me. I never really wrote jokes before, or thought about writing, in that way. I think that I’m more aware of things. I absorb things more.

TeenHollywood: Was your look in the film your idea? Is that how you usually look in real life?
Aubrey: That’s what I look like, yeah. Those are my real glasses that I wore in the movie. And, I had bangs prior to the movie. But, I think Judd liked it anyway. I was playing a dorky, comedy, improv person and that’s who I am.

TeenHollywood: Well you look pretty glam today. Was it intimidating to come into this group of Apatow actors that Judd works with a lot, like Adam, Seth, Jonah, Jason Schwartzman, or did you feel included, right away?
Aubrey: I was really intimidated, before I met everyone. At the first table read, I met everyone and I instantly felt comfortable. They welcomed me into the family really nicely. I hope that I get to work with them again.

TeenHollywood: So what’s next for you. More ‘Parks and Recreation’ and what else?
Aubrey: I just finished shooting Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. I just got back from Canada, and that was really fun. It’s with Michael Cera. I play a character named Julie Powers. She’s an antagonist to Michael Cera’s character. She’s a bitchy record store employee.

TeenHollywood: So you’re the bad girl?
Aubrey: A little bit. There’s a lot of fighting in the movie, but I don’t get to fight physically. I fight with my words only. There’s a lot of yelling and venom coming out of my mouth. It was great to be angry, every day. It was really awesome.

TeenHollywood: A great release I guess. ‘Parks & Recreation’ rushed into production last year and had to find its way. How does it feel this season?
Aubrey: The writers were pretty on top of figuring out what the tone was and what the context was, as far as the local government aspect of the show. For me, it was more about figuring out the relationships and the dynamics, and how the comedy was going to come from that, but that takes time.

TeenHollywood: Have you gotten new scripts yet?
Aubrey: Yeah and it’s going to be really, really good.

TeenHollywood: Any progress on the park with the big hole?
Aubrey: It’s still there. The pit is still huge and deep.

From Teen Hollywood